Creative Process and FAQ’s below
With years of experience and experimentation, I have created a unique look in my artwork. I thought you might like to see the stages the art goes through from beginning to end as the image comes into focus. Each piece of art is made in a step-by-step process, consisting of at least five layers, making it one-of-a-kind and unique.
I call it “Controlled Chaos”. My work table is filled with brushes, paints, palettes, stamping objects, and bottles of various supplies. I like to work in the now, that is why I like acrylic. I have a result immediately with every stroke decided on and calculated. When I am in the moment, the calming and precise strokes are each deliberate and planned.
After selecting the subject matter I look for a corresponding color, sometimes similar and sometimes complementary.
The cut magazines are adhered to the page with varying widths and spaces. I like the integration of text and images. The words give it another layer and add interest to the work.
I use rice paper to cover the area where the image will be. More circles are added in the piece as needed to create a favorable composition.
Exotic Jade 12 x 12 multimedia gallery wrapped $175
My worktop, filled with supplies and the latest project, an orchid photo I took at Marie Selby Botanical Gardens in Sarasota.
How long have you been an artist?
Where do you get your subject matter from?
How do you plan the work?
What are the pages in the background of the painting?
What is your most interesting project?
I cannot remember a time when I was not drawing or painting. I was in private art lessons at age of 12 and have continually honed my skills. I love working in most mediums from graphite, inks, scratchboard, but I always come back to painting. The paintbrush strokes are just intuitive and come naturally onto the canvas.
I take most of my own photographs from visits to botanical and butterfly gardens all over the US. I try to grow many of my flowers in my garden, but the Florida sun can be tough to work against in the summer!
Color has always been important to me. Matching the hues I see in nature, I intensify some to bring out each delicate and tiny detail. The compositions are planned to just the right balance in the work. The eye must be at ease when looking at the finished work.
The pages came out of my viewpoint on the importance of recycling and it is a statement when utilizing the Smithsonian and National Geographic magazines. They share their stories through text and images of the beautiful world and then are used to focus on nature again through the paintings.
There have been many, but I think working with the nurses and their children from Tampa General Hospital was great. They created sea creatures and then I incorporated them into 5 large paintings to grace the walls of the new neonatal unit there.